Shear systems are employed in a wide variety of electric shaving devices. In constructing shear systems, considerable effort is sometimes expended to obtain a shave as thorough as possible. One difficulty presenting itself in this connection is the reliable removal of hairs lying flat against the skin, and the art knows of shear systems which are equipped with structural elements specifically developed for this purpose.
In this context it is known from Canadian Pat. No. CA 1 134 706 to provide an electric shaving apparatus with a raking device that is arranged centrally between two laterally spaced cutting regions of a pre-cutter. The pre-cutter includes a stationary outer cutter and a movable inner cutter. The raking device is secured to the stationary outer cutter and has teeth protruding beyond this cutter. The raking device serves to lift ingrown hairs, making them accessible for the cutting operation.
Furthermore, from DE 959 167 C there is known an electric shaving apparatus having at least one shaving head. The shaving head includes a movable cutter that is covered by a perforate guard plate. Fixedly arranged on either side of the guard plate, ahead of entrance slits in the guard plate, are small brushes whose tips protrude beyond the plane of the guard plate. The brushes are intended to facilitate the penetration of the hairs into the perforations of the guard plate.
JP 10-323463 discloses a shaving system for an electric shaving apparatus which includes a stationary cutter and a movable cutter. The stationary cutter is U-shaped in cross-section and has a plurality of slits. The movable cutter is in sliding engagement with the undersurface of the stationary cutter. Disposed in an intermediate space in the stationary cutter is a comb that is fixedly connected to the stationary cutter and of a height smaller than the upper side of the stationary cutter. The comb is intended to lift low-lying hairs and feed them to the slits of the stationary cutter.
A shaving head for a blade-type razor is known from EP 0 855 256 B1. The shaving head has a blade for severing hair close to the skin. The shaving head further includes a manipulator that moves the hair during the act of cutting longitudinally of the blade and relative to the skin. To this effect, the manipulator is driven by a drive system and has teeth and recesses therebetween.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,568,047 discloses a blade-type razor having guard rollers adjacent to the blade on either side thereof. The guard rollers are provided with circumferentially extending ribs and grooves and are caused to rotate by contact with the skin during cutting strokes of the razor. The rotating guard rollers urge the skin and the beard bristles toward the cutting edge of the blade, thereby promoting a clean cut.